;
Johan Van der Biest
Head of Thematic Global Equity
Turning trends into investment opportunities
Our world is constantly evolving, shaped by trends that impact economies and society. While some of those trends are viral and short-lived, some others are large scale and impactful over several decades. What we are looking for are trends with the potential to trigger and drive disruptive structural changes in our societies, covering political, economic, environmental, social and cultural dimensions. Because our conviction is that they may be a source of opportunities for well-positioned innovative companies. Our sector specialists use their expertise and deep industry knowledge to identify these opportunities and translate them into attractive investment portfolios.
At Candriam, we consider five megatrends: demographic evolution, health care and well-being, technological innovation, overexploitation of natural resources, and climate change.
;
”Thematic approaches can uncover investment opportunities that go beyond sector and regional approaches. We have built this range of strategies to enable our clients to access high-potential companies that should benefit from powerful secular trends.
Five megatrends shaping our future
- Demographic evolution
- Healthcare and well-being
- Technological innovation
- Climate change
- Natural resource depletion
Demographic evolution
Steady population growth, combined with changing consumption patterns, will continue to fuel demand for natural resources. Landscapes are deeply modified by increasing urbanization. New skills and higher productivity are needed to compensate for the decline of the working-age population in the largest countries. New challenges require new approaches.
|
10bnGlobal population by 2059 United Nations, Global populations forecast, median scenario |
2/3of world population will World Bank, United Nations |
Healthcare and well-being
Technological innovation
Climate change
Natural resource depletion
Figures are worth a thousand words.
12.2 bn€
In AuM
15
Strategies
20+
Years of experience in managing thematic equity funds
A forward-looking approach for a high conviction investment process
At Candriam, we want to make the most of each thematic opportunity with a pure and forward-looking approach. This is why we apply a dedicated thematic screening to each thematic investment strategy. In most strategies, for a company to be eligible, we require a minimum revenue exposure to one or preferably several thematic subthemes. It allows the investor to benefit from a full exposure to his or her preferred investment theme. Each shortlisted company is then analysed using our fundamental five-step equity framework, which embeds ESG criteria in each of its steps. We focus on the companies that are offering or developing promising solutions, companies that really make a difference.
Fundamental framework
Fundamental analysis is essential to a successful stock selection. Candriam’s fundamental equity framework includes five pillars: quality of management, underlying business growth, competitive advantage, value creation and financial leverage. ESG is embedded at each step.
ESG integration
Our strategies exclude companies active in controversial activities and those violating the UN Global Compact. Companies’ ESG scores on our Stakeholders and Business Activities Analysis are integrated in our fundamental framework and valuation model. This allows us to better understand the risks and opportunities associated with non-financial criteria.